Forever Together
by midnightwolf92
Summary: Vane is a werewolf running from his enemies when he comes across Bride. She's everything he's ever wanted for a mate but could she ever love a wolf? Find out as Vane and Bride run for their lives from Vane's persistant enemies.VaneXBride Remember 2 Review
1. A New Friend

**A New Friend**

Vane sighed. _'Another day at high school with the immature hormone-crazed teenagers.'_ He smiled a little to himself as he pulled his restored 1986 Chevy Camaro into a parking space. The car was black with dark red racing stripes and didn't seem to fit in well with the other student cars in the parking lot. A lot of wealthier kids attended this school so it was mostly newer cars that you saw. He didn't mind attending this school though. The boys here could be good company when they acted more mature and when they didn't he didn't mind being alone. He frowned a little as he thought about how he was going to have to leave and move onto another town in a couple of months. He should have left already but there was just something about this town that he loved.

Bride pulled into the last parking space available. She slung her crappy backpack over her shoulder and locked her old Dodge Neon. She didn't know why she bothered locking it after she looked around and noticed all of the Corvettes, Volvos, Mercedes and every other high priced car you could think of. Nobody would want to steal a car that was in need of a good paint job. At least not in this town. She pulled out a map and started to head towards where she guessed the front office was.

The chubby redhead at the front desk smelled of grandma perfume as Bride approached. The redhead smiled at her. "How can I help you, honey?" Bride smiled good-naturedly. "I'm a new student." "Name?" she asked as she turned to her computer. "Bride McTierney." As the redhead printed her schedule, Bride wondered how often she'd have to repeat her name today. The desk clerk gave her a pass so that her tardy would be excused. Bride hated the idea of being late on her first day. It was embarrassing.

The moment the door opened, Vane's head was filled with the smell of roses and cinnamon. His head snapped up to look at the new comer. He was stunned by what he saw. Long auburn hair, fair skin, definite curves, full lips and bright green eyes. Everything a man could ask for. Everything he could ask for. Her hips swayed in a seductive rhythm as she walked to the desk in front of him and sat down.

The bald headed teacher came over to hand her an English textbook. "Keep this home" he said and then returned to his desk. The classroom went back to their conversations that had been interrupted. Bride was so thankful that he didn't make her introduce herself or anything like that. She hated standing up in front of people and putting herself on the spot. She was pretending to read the cover of her textbook when she heard a deep voice from behind her.

"Don't worry. You won't be needing it. He never assigns anything."

Bride turned in her seat to look at him. She had noticed how incredibly handsome he had looked on her way to her desk. He looked more like a 21 or 22 year old than a senior in high school. He had midnight black hair that was long and thick but cut short. Tanned skin covered a well muscled body and he smelled so good.

"So where are you coming from?" he asked her.

"Florida" She wrinkled up her nose.

"Ugh. I hate it there. It's way too humid for my taste. I'm Vane."

"Bride." _Vane. I like it._

"Bride? That's different. So what else do you have on your schedule Bride?" _Okay why are you asking her so many questions. You look like an idiot._

"Uhm.. I don't know.." She found it strange that this guy was talking to her right in the middle of class. But then again, everyone else in the room was doing the same thing as if this were normal.

"Can I see?"

She handed her schedule to him.

"Well, this and French are the only classes we have together. That and lunch. But I can tell you that your math teacher is very particular about you showing your work." Why was he talking to this girl? He had to leave soon. What was the point?

Bride smiled at him. "Thanks." She looked back at her schedule and her map as she tried to memorize where everything was.

When the bell rang to dismiss class Vane stood with his practically empty backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "So why did you come to New York if you don't mind me asking?"

Bride put her bag over her shoulder. "My dad took a promotion."

"Oh." He followed her outside to fall into place walking beside her. They were mostly silent as they walked to French together but somehow it wasn't an awkward silence like they had both expected. It was a content and comfortable silence.

As they entered the classroom he said, "You can sit anywhere you want. Just as long as you're here she doesn't care." Vane walked to the back row and sat down. Almost instinctively Bride followed him and sat down beside him. Vane smiled a little as she sat down. She was already becoming his. But then he frowned. _You're leaving remember?_

Four weeks later, Vane knew he would have a hard time leaving. He felt guilty thinking about the fact that he was her first and so far only friend in a new place and soon he would be abandoning her without any explanation. But he kept his spirits up when he was around her. He had to keep her smiling. She was the type of woman he wanted for a mate. Something he thought he would never find. But she was human. Completely innocent and unaware of the dangers his world was made of and he had no pack to help protect her.

Bride had never been the type of person to have a 'crush' on someone but she had to admit there was just something about him that she kind of liked..or maybe even loved? She got nervous when she was around him. She felt her heart flutter in her chest every time he came into the room and she could swear it stopped completely every time he smiled or grinned. She hoped he wasn't just toying with her emotions. People had done that to her at her old school in Maine. She had always told herself to wait until collage to date so that the guys were at least a little more mature. But if Vane were to ask her out she knew she would say yes in a heartbeat.

God how she wished he was here now. She pushed as hard as she could against the chest of the boy who was now rubbing himself up against her but it didn't do much good since he probably weighed at least twice of what she did. "Get off of me you bastard!" she growled in frustration as she tried to push him away again. She would have kneed him in the groin but he had her pressed so hard against the lockers that she couldn't really move her legs much at all.

Bride's heart skipped a beat when she saw a large hand clamp down on the jerk's shoulder with a death grip. Vane pulled the creep off of Bride as if he were a piece of trash stuck on the bottom of his shoe and pinned him against the lockers on the opposite side of the hallway.

In the wolf world he would have ripped the guy's throat out and howled in victory. He was still considering it. But they were in the human world right now and he needed to make sure his girl was okay. Maybe just one little punch then. He pulled his arm back, ready to strike, when a soft touch on his arm stopped him. He turned his head and looked down at her. "He's not worth you getting in trouble Vane." Vane would have protested if it wasn't for the tender look in her green eyes.

He pulled the kid up off of his feet and growled a low warning to him that only he could hear. "If I ever see you near her again I _will_ rip your throat out."

Then he released him and wrapped an arm around Bride's waist. He led her outside and then stopped. He tilted her chin up to look at him and frowned when he saw tears on her cheeks. Rage and tenderness battled inside of him as he fought to choose which one to succumb to. In the end, tenderness won. He wiped her cheeks clean and kissed her forehead softly.


	2. Kidnapped

**Kidnapped**

Six weeks had passed and Vane already wished he could just scoop her up and take her with him. He wanted her to be his mate. To belong only to him. But she didn't even know that werewolves existed. She would turn and run from him the moment she found out what he was. What he was capable of. The things he had done.

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Two months passed and Vane still hadn't left. He should have left five months ago if he had followed his routine. But he had delayed for three months because he liked the town. Then Bride showed up and he delayed for another two months to stay with her. He knew they could be coming for him any day now but he couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to her. They were already best friends. They did everything together. Not a day went by that they didn't do something together or talk on the phone for three hours. She had gotten closer to him than anyone else had in a long time. It felt good to be trusted again. Not that he deserved it. After all, she didn't know everything about him. But each day that he delayed he put her in more danger than she already was.

She kicked off her flip flops and plopped down onto his big comfortable bed with a sigh. Vane smiled and flopped down on his stomach next to her.

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"You're sure it was him?"

"Yes sir. I'm positive. And this is the girl he was with."

Gordan grinned. Now they had the bastard.

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Bride smiled and turned over on her back. Vane was lying on his side with his head propped up by his hand. He looked so handsome. And sexy. Bride knew just by looking at him that he would look ten times better with just his shirt off. Not to mention anything else.

"So what time do you have to be home tonight?" Vane asked.

She sighed. "I don't know." She didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay with him like this all night.

Vane smiled a little and stood up. He headed into the kitchen. "So what do we want to eat tonight?"

"I don't care" She said as she took one of his pillows. She hugged it to her chest and couldn't help but notice the intense scent on it. It smelled of him and just all around man. All around Vane. She loved it. It was strange really... he seemed so much older than her but she had never felt the need to ask him what his age was.

"How about... spaghetti?"

"Sure" She smiled and turned on her side. "I'm tired"

He smiled softly and kissed her forehead. "Take a nap." It was an order but it was an order that she didn't mind obliging. She realized that seemed to happen a lot with him. She shrugged and snuggled into his pillow as she closed her eyes.

He woke her up when the spaghetti was finished. They ate while watching a movie and then they played a game of poker before she drove home. Vane laid down onto his bed, exhausted.

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She walked in the front door with a happy sigh. She had never felt this way before. She wasn't in love with him. She couldn't be. It was too soon. Wasn't it?

Christopher waited until she had changed her clothes and turned her light off to go to bed. Then, before she could climb into bed he had a cloth with a sleeping drug over her mouth and nose. "Don't scream sweetheart" he warned in a low voice.

Bride's eyes widened and she yelped softly in surprise.

Chris put a small but sharp knife to her throat. "Shutup. I'm not good at following orders" he hissed.

She quieted down but she wasn't going to give in without a fight. She struggled against his hold on her arms but it did no good. Her chest heaved up and down from her efforts. The drug finally took its toll a few minutes later. Chris put his knife away in his boot and picked her up over his shoulder. He grunted a little at the effort of lifting her. She wasn't fat but she wasn't small either. He loaded her into his car outside and sped off to the rendezvous point. Meanwhile, another Hunter was leaving a message in Vane's locker.

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What do you guys think so far? Lemme know!


	3. Aeneas

**Aeneas**

At first her vision was blurry and her head hurt but after a minute or so it began to clear. "Hey Chris, she's waking up."

Chris looked over and grinned. He turned to a third guy. "Hey Gordan, can I play with her a little?"

Gordan rolled his eyes. "Yes. Just don't touch her too much."

Chris groaned a little in disappointment but approached Bride. Bride sat up weakly. She was in an empty room of what looked like an abandoned building of some kind with three men. Apparently the leader was Gordan. He was the largest. Probably about as big as Vane with dark gray hair and a nasty scar down the right side of his neck. The one who had attacked her earlier was Chris. He had buzzed light brown hair and an evil smirk. And the third still did not have a name. Nameless had shaggy light brown hair and didn't seem to talk much. As the memories of what had happened the night before formed back in her head, she started to panic.

Chris grabbed her by the arms and hauled her up to her feet. "Hey sweetheart." He pushed her back up against the wall. "I'm sure your precious wolf is finding the little note we left him in his locker right about now. I wish I could see the look on his face."

Her eyes widened in anger as she realized who they were talking about. They were going to hurt Vane. She wiggled one of her hands free easily and slapped him hard across the face. Chris's head turned with the force of the blow. He glared hard at her. Bride swallowed. Maybe she shouldn't have done that.

Chris raised his hand to back hand her but suddenly Gordan had a hold on his wrist. Bride didn't remember seeing Gordan move but her attention had been on Chris. Gordan gave Chris a stern look. "Don't." Chris yanked his wrist out of Gordan's grip and nodded hesitantly. Gordan disappeared and then reappeared across the room.

Bride backed against the wall more, breathing hard. "Oh my God. What are you? What's going on?" Chris grabbed her wrists and held them up above her head. His face was close enough to kiss her as his chest pressed against hers lightly. "Has he claimed you for himself yet princess? Did he already make you his mate?"

Her eyes widened. She had to get out of here. "Let go!!" She yelled as she tried to wiggle her wrists free. This couldn't be happening. Chris chuckled and pulled her wrists in front of her. "Hey Evan, come tie her up for me." Evan, Mr. Nameless, came over with some rope and bound Bride's wrists while Chris held them in place. She struggled harder. "Let go! Let go!!" She screamed. Chris shoved her back against the wall hard. "Shut your trap woman!"

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Vane dropped his backpack and shoved note he found in his locker in his pocket as he ran through the crowded hallway. He pushed and shoved through the crowd until he was outside. He moved faster than any human could dream of as he ran to his car. All he could think about was Bride and what he was going to do to those damn Hunters when he got to them.

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Bride tried to bite him but Christ shoved her back against the wall again. Gordan sighed as if he were thinking 'Amateur'.

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Vane sped to the address they had left in his locker. He knew he should have left! If he had left before she came she wouldn't be in danger right now! Now he would have to explain everything to her and probably lose the woman he loved in the process. Dammit he was so stupid! But he couldn't concentrate on how dumb he was right now. First he needed to get Bride safe.

"Let me go!" Bride screamed at no one in particular. If she didn't stop screaming soon she was going to lose her voice. But she'd rather give them hell and lose her voice than do nothing at all.

Vane leapt out of his car and into the building. He ran to the second floor. "Bride!" He yelled as he burst into the room ready to kill anyone who got in his way.

Chris put her in front of him with a knife at her throat. "Not so fast Aeneas" Gordan said as he took a few steps forward. Evan circled around to the opposite side of Chris to put Vane in a loose circle.

_Aeneas?_ Bride was in complete shock and confusion. But she had enough of her wits left to not make a sound. She wasn't even sure she could. The moment Vane rushed into the room her heart skipped a beat. She didn't know if it was relief, shock, fear or a mixture of all three.

Vane turned to Gordan. "Let her go Gordan. She has nothing to do with this."

Gordan chuckled. "Don't try that with me Aeneas. It's pretty obvious that she has something to do with it by the way you reacted."

Vane glared. "You know what I mean. She's not my mate. So just let her go."

Gordan sighed. "Now Aeneas you know better then that. You know I can't tell whether you're lying to me or not when it comes to things like that. And I think I'd rather stay on the safe side." He waved his pointer finger at Chris. In response, Chris pushed the knife more into Bride's throat.

Bride's breathing became more labored. Her eyes burned with tears that threatened to fall. Why was this happening to her? She just wish this all would stop.

Vane bared teeth that were now sharp fangs and growled. It sounded more like an animal than a human. "You got me here. Now let her go. You don't need her anymore. Besides, if she were my mate she would know what we are. As you can tell by her reaction, she doesn't know anything about us."

Gordan considered this for a moment and then nodded towards Chris. Chris let her go and shoved her towards the door. Bride lost her footing and stumbled. She fell on her hands and knees next to Vane.

Vane would have helped her up but he knew from personal experience that letting his guard down for one second with these guys was a bad idea. "Bride get in my car and get away from here. Now."

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Don't worry the cuter stuff starts to happen in the next few chapters. =) Please lemme know what you think. Oh and Aeneas is pronounced Uh-nay-us.


	4. Explanations

**Explanations**

Bride hesitated but then ran out of the door. She couldn't help but let tears run down her face. She always liked to think of herself as strong, but... she never thought something like this would happen to her.

Chris and Evan attacked Vane at the same time from both sides. Vane grew his fingernails out into black claws and slashed and cut at his attackers. Gordan stood by and watched as his men cut at Vane with their silver-coated knives. Silver wasn't deadly to werewolves like most legends claimed however it did slow them down.

Bride found his car and thanked god that his keys were still in the ignition. She started to car and pulled out of the parking lot.

By now Vane was panting. He couldn't take make much more of this. His muscles had been sliced open in numerous places and he was making it worse by fighting with those muscles. He finally got a clear shot at Evan's throat. Vane slashed his claws across Evan's throat cutting his jugular, killing him. Gordan glared at Vane before himself and Chris disappeared.

When they were gone, Vane leaned on his knees a little to catch his breath.

Bride wasn't really sure what she should do. She either needed to go to the police or his house. The police would never believe her.

Once Vane was breathing almost normally he ran out of the building at too fast a speed for a human. He wondered where she would go as he followed the scent of his car.

Bride ended up pulled over on the side of the road. She could barely breathe as she tried to make sense of everything she had just witnessed. Whatever those guys were...they weren't human. Was Vane one of them? No. He would have told her. Would she have believed him?

Vane finally caught up with the car. He was panting again as he approached the driver's side. He knocked on the window lightly. "Bride?"

Caught totally off guard she yelped in surprise and fear.

Vane held his hands with the palms up. "Bride it's me. It's okay."

She stared wide eyed at him.

Vane slowly opened the door and bent down to look at her. Her big green eyes were full of confusion and fear. Fear of him or fear of Gordan and his men? Or both? "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

She didn't respond. She didn't do anything.

Vane sighed and kneeled down on the ground. He had a cut across his cheek that stung along with the many others all over his body but he wasn't paying attention to the pain. He looked at her again. "Bride... are you alright?"

She stared at him with a slightly horrified look on her face as she shook her head slowly.

Vane looked her directly in the eyes. "You need to get in the passenger side so that I can drive. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded once and slowly tried to make her way over to the passenger seat.

Vane waited patiently for her to move across the car before he climbed in, shut the door, and took off towards his apartment. He wasn't sure what to say to comfort her. He wasn't used to having to comfort people. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"W-what is going on?!" She suddenly demanded. Her senses had finally come back to her and now she wanted answers.

Vane sighed. This type of reaction was exactly what he had feared. "It's... difficult to explain."

"You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do mister so I suggest you get started!"

He smiled a little despite himself. She was kind of funny. "Whether we like it or not you've been dragged into the middle of my own personal war. Those men have been after me for centuries and I them."

"What?" She could barely breathe as he confirmed her worst fears. He was one of them.

"I'm not 19 like everyone says I am. I'm a 210 year old werewolf. And those guys we just ran into are Werewolf Hunters."

"I don't believe you." She hoped that didn't sound like as much of a lie to him as it did to her.

"What's not to believe, you saw the way Gordan moves. He's half werewolf. He killed his own mother for being a wolf and then killed his father for having loved her and cursing him to being a half breed. He hates werewolves. I've been running from him for 190 years." He pulled into a parking space in front of his apartment building.

Bride gasped in horror. Gordan had killed his own parents just for being what they were and loving each other. He really was a monster. She looked at Vane. If Gordan was only half werewolf and Vane was a whole werewolf...how much of a monster was Vane? So far Vane hadn't done anything to hurt her. Maybe it was the human side of Gordan that was the monster. It wouldn't be the first time that Bride had seen great evil come from a human. Her mother used to abuse her. That was before her dad found out and got custody of her.

Vane sighed and opened the car door. "Come with me." And he started to get out of the car. They had to get moving.

"No!" She couldn't leave. She couldn't. Not just like that.

Vane settled back into the seat. "Bride listen to me. If you go back home these men will find you again and they will not hesitate to hurt you. The safest place for you to be right now is with me."

Bride frowned but knew that he was right. She nodded and slowly got out of the car.

"Thank you. I just need to get a few things from my apartment. It wont take long for Gordan to find us again" Vane told her as they climbed the stairs and entered his apartment.

"What?" She had zoned out while he was talking.

"We can't stay here or else we'll put everyone we know in danger. We have to get away from here. We won't be gone long. We just can't risk giving Gordan the time to decide he needs another hostage. We need to draw him out of here." Vane headed to his closet and pulled out two backpacks off the top shelf.

"How long?" She asked softly.

Vane was pulling t-shirts and jeans out of the closet and stuffing them into the backpack. "I'm not sure. Probably about two months. Don't worry we can leave a message for your dad telling him you're taking that trip to France with our class. I should have you back about the same time they get back."

She frowned. "I don't want to leave. I can't leave my dad like that. With just a note. What if you're wrong and I never see him again? I can't do this." She started to head for the door when Vane grabbed her arm. She looked up at him and was shocked when she saw tenderness. The most she had ever seen from him.

"Bride if either one of us stays here anyone in this town is in danger. I know you don't want to leave your dad like this but at least with the note he won't worry. And I promise I will get you home safely."

"How do you know that? How do you know you can?" she challenged.

"You're just going to have to trust me." He waited for a moment but she didn't say anything. "Please."

Finally, she nodded. Vane sighed in relief. He went to the kitchen and pulled a cookie jar down off of the refrigerator and pulled out a Ziploc bag stuffed with money. Bride almost asked where he got all of that cash but then decided that she didn't want to know. Vane zipped up the backpack and led her out of the apartment. He shut the door and picked up the door mat to grab a set of hidden car keys. He led her down the stairs and to a 2010 Chevy Camaro.

Bride couldn't help but ogle the car. It had the same paint job as the concept car they had used in the movie Transformers. Yellow with black racing stripes. Bride climbed into the passenger's seat and decided that she wasn't going to make this trip easy for him. Why should she? He was the one who had lied. He was the one who had hurt her. Emotionally anyway. "So what else have you lied to me about?" She snapped.

Vane started the car and Bride almost melted at the sound of the engine. "My birth name is Aeneas Lancaster. I was born in London, England on April 16, 1798. My family disowned me when I was 20 and that's when I had to start running from Gordan and his men. I can't think of anything else right now."

"So you're a werewolf?" The snappy tone had disappeared despite her best efforts.

"Yes."

"So what can you do besides move really fast and obviously live a long time?"

"Well in a human form, we have heightened senses, we can replace our fingernails with claws and we can grow our teeth out to feed if we want to. And of course we can change into wolves."

"Feed? What exactly do you eat?" Despite herself, Bride found the idea of being able to change into a wolf...intriguing.

"Mostly meat. Not humans or anything. Animals. Just like normal wolves in the wild." He sounded like he was having small talk at the dinner table with a bunch of billionaires rather than explaining himself to his best friend.

Bride frowned and stayed silent for a long time.

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Oh and I don't own Vane or Bride but I own everyone else and the idea. I keep forgetting to do that. XP


	5. Shopping

**Shopping**

Bride fell asleep with the help of a pillow and blanket Vane had brought for her. It was 7 a.m when she cracked her eyes open. It took her a moment to realize that he was still driving. "You never stopped to sleep?"

Vane shook his head. "I can go a little longer than a human without sleep. However, I don't know about you but I am starving."

Bride nodded and yawned again as she sat up.

Vane smiled a little and pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot. "We need to go shopping first though." He pulled into a spot and turned the car off. He reached behind the seat to get some money out of the backpack.

"Where are we?"

"Pennsylvania."

Bride looked around. It was nice to be able to look out of the window and not see skyscrapers in every direction.

Vane handed her four 100 dollar bills and kept one for himself. "Buy yourself some clothes and make sure you get a heavy jacket and a lightweight jacket. I'll get bathroom stuff for the both of us and then we can get some breakfast."

Bride nodded and put the money safely in her pocket. Once in the store, Vane headed in one direction while she headed to the clothes. She grabbed some t-shirts, some cute tops, lots of jeans, two pairs of pajamas one warm and one...not so warm, and one dress and threw it all in the cart. He still hadn't come looking for her so she figured it was safe to grab some underwear and a few bras and socks.

Meanwhile, Vane grabbed deodorant for the both of them, a hair brush, a woman's razor, some shampoo and conditioner for both of them, a small hair dryer, and embarrassingly enough he got some pads. He wasn't sure which kind since there seemed to be thousands of them so he got three different kinds. He threw it all into a shopping cart then headed towards the woman's clothing section. Once he found her, "Is this everything?"

Bride looked in the cart. She had to stop herself from smiling when she saw the pads. "Yep. That looks fine. I just need to grab a few more things."

Vane nodded. "I'll meet you at the car." And he headed off for the cash register.

Once he was gone, Bride couldn't help but giggle. She was making him buy all of that girl stuff. And she still couldn't believe that he had even thought to grab pads. Bride looked back in her cart and made sure she had enough of everything she needed. Then she remembered she needed two jackets. So she went back over and selected a heavy pink one and a lightweight blue one. She sighed and started to head for the cash register when something caught her eye.

"Hmm." Bride grinned mischievously as she headed towards the Lingerie section. Granted it was Wal-Mart so they didn't have the best selection but she found something she liked and threw it in the basket. She didn't know what had gotten into her but she couldnt' help but picture Vane's face if he ever saw her in it. She almost busted out laughing in the middle of paying for her things.

She wheeled the cart outside and he helped her load everything into the car. "If you want to pick out a change of clothes we can change over at Denny's across the street and grab some breakfast." Vane suggested. Bride nodded and searched through the bags for a change of clothes that she wanted. Vane already had his in hand as he climbed into the car.

Once inside the restaurant, they changed clothes in the bathroom and then were seated at a table. They helped themselves to a healthy breakfast.

"So where are we going?" Bride asked in between bites of pancake.

"Yellowstone National Park."

"Seriously? We're driving that far? Can't we just take a plane?" Wyoming was such a long ways away from Pennsylvania.

"Gordon would expect that. He'll be waiting for me to purchase a plane ticket."

Bride frowned. "Whats in Wyoming anyway?"

"It's the safest place for you while I try to take care of Gordan. I might even be able to get some help there. If I'm lucky." He didn't sound like he had much faith in that idea.

She frowned at the thought of him leaving her.

"But that's only if they decide to help. If they don't you'll have to stay with me." He thought about how grave the consequences could be if it came to that and decided he didn't like them at all. He looked up to find Bride glaring at him. "What?"

"So, you're just going to dump me off with someone I don't know?"

Vane sighed. "No. I'll be there with you most of the time. I would just feel more comfortable if you were around thirty other wolves rather than just me."

Bride frowned. "You'd feel more comfortable. What about me?"

"Don't worry I'll stay by you. I'll just feel better with people at my back."

She sighed but nodded in understanding.

"Have you ever seen Wyoming?" Vane asked a few minutes later.

"No. I always wanted to visit Yellowstone though."

He smiled a little. "I think you'll like it. It's really beautiful where we're going."

The rest of the meal passed in content silence.


	6. Spending the Night

**Spending the Night**

It was finally about 9 p.m when Vane's eyes started to droop. He pulled into a nearby motel somewhere just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. They only had one room left and it had only one bed. Never the less, Vane was too tired to keep driving.

Bride stumbled out of the car and stretched with a yawn.

Vane sighed and stretched his arms above his head. He took the backpack and condensed some of the shopping bags before carrying all of them into the room he had unlocked a moment ago after receiving the key. The room had a small bathroom, a small closet, one chair, one bed, and one long dresser with a TV on it. Vane set the backpacks down on the floor next to the chair and kicked off his shoes.

Bride slipped her shoes off and dug her cuter pajamas out of a shopping bag. It was a wife beater tank top and short pink shorts that said "Cute" across the butt. Normally she wouldn't wear those type of shorts (she had never really cared for them) but honestly, she didn't mind the idea of Vane looking. She grabbed her bathroom things and headed into the restroom to get ready for bed.

When Bride arrived out of the bathroom, she had a nice view of Vane's muscled back. He was busy gently applying a strange white ointment onto the many cuts on his body. He wore shorts so that he could reach the ones on his legs better.

Her breath caught when she saw him for the first time without a shirt on. A six pack. She knew it. And it was perfect. It wasn't so tight that it was annoying but it was tight enough to be obvious. She noticed with a frown that Vane wasn't applying the ointment onto the cuts on his back because he obviously couldn't reach them but he seemed to be almost done.

Seeing him like this left no doubt in her mind that he wasn't human. She peeled her eyes off of his perfect body for a minute to put her bathroom things back into her bag. After completing that task, she sat on the bed behind him and took the tube of ointment from him to gently apply it on the few cuts across his back. Her hands were shaky but she hoped he didn't notice.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome." At least her voice was steadier than her hands.

"You can have the bed. I'll sleep in the chair." As much as he knew he wouldn't get much sleep there it would be rude to make her sleep there and even more rude to ask her to share the bed.

Before she could stop herself, "We can share."

Vane was unsure. He didn't know if he'd be able to sleep in the same bed as her without touching her in some way, shape, or form. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind? Because it's no problem for me to sleep in the chair."

Bride shrugged. "I don't care." _Oh God this is going to be torture._

He smiled sheepishly. "Thanks."

Bride smiled a little and crawled under the covers. Vane followed her after putting the ointment back in his backpack. It took both of them an hour before they finally fell asleep.

-------------------------------

The morning was...interesting and...slightly embarrassing. Bride woke up warm and comfortable. Especially her back and stomach. She cracked her eyes open and suddenly realized why. Her back was lying against Vane's stomach and his arm was draped over her side. Well sort of. Technically his hand had somehow found it's way under her shirt and was settled over her stomach just below her breasts. Bride tensed.

Vane yawned and opened his eyes. He wondered what time it was. And what was this thing next to him? He turned to look and met gazes with Bride who instantly turned bright red. Vane could feel a blush creeping up on his cheeks too. At the same instant, they both pulled away from each other and leaped off of the bed.

"Uhh you can have the shower first."

"Okay." Bride's voice was shaky. She picked up a few bags and went into the bathroom.

Vane couldn't find it in himself to apologize since, to be completely honest, he wasn't. He had liked waking up with her in his arms. _She's not your mate. _

--------------------------------

After they had both showered, they decided to eat at a Denny's again. After they ordered their food Bride excused herself from the table to go use the restroom.

Right after she shut the stall door she heard commotion that seemed strange to her. On pure instinct she stood up on the toilet seat so that no one would see her feet. The bathroom door had been slammed open and then locked. Someone shoved someone else against the wall of the bathroom.

"You filthy half breed! I thought I told you to capture him!" a woman's voice hissed.

"We had him cornered." That was Gordan's voice.

"But you stupidly let the girl go!" The woman shoved Gordan against the wall again. "No mistakes this time Gordan. Or I'll have your head next to his on my mantel piece!"

"Yes mistress."

"He's out there right now with that stupid human and I want him. You capture that girl, you lure him in, and you kill him. Then get rid of the female. She has seen too much. Do you understand Gordan?"

"Yes mistress."

"Good."

The door was unlocked and the two walked out into the restaurant. Bride panicked. She had to get to Vane before they did! She jumped off the toilet seat and slammed the stall door open. She ran up to the bathroom door and peeked out to see where they were. They were across the restaurant searching for her and Vane. Once they had their backs turned for a minute she ran over to Vane. "They're here!" She shouted in a whisper.

Vane immediately snapped his head up. His expression went serious. "Where?" he whispered.

"Theres no time. We have to go!" She whispered.

Vane frowned, wondering what she had heard. He stood and took her hand in his. He scanned the room and spotted them. He hoped to god they didn't turn around. But apparently god hadn't heard him because just as they reached the front of the restaurant, Gordan spotted them. "Shit" Vane hissed and started running while still holding onto Bride. Gordan and the woman darted after them.

Bride's heart jumped out of her chest. Gordan and his mistress burst out of the restaurant just as Vane and Bride were about to turn the corner to get to the car. The woman had her gun out and aimed at Bride. She shot and missed.

Bride yelped. She could of sworn that she felt the bullet fly right past her. The woman handed Gordan her gun. Gordan flash stepped to appear in front of Vane. Vane was about to flash step around him but then he realized where the gun was pointed. He shoved Bride out of the way just as the shot was fired. He landed halfway ontop of her.

Bride let out another shocked yelped as she was caught off guard. She wasn't shocked to find out that Vane was heavy. _Oh God. _"Vane?"

Gordan came over and slammed his foot down on the gun wound in Vane's left leg. Vane hissed in pain. The woman caught up and smiled. "How does that silver feel wolf? Is your entire leg numb yet?" Gordan asked as he pushed down harder. Vane growled softly. Gordan was right. He couldn't feel it. His entire left leg was already numb.

"Stop it!!" Bride screamed at them.

The woman snorted and approached Bride. She reached to grab Bride's throat but she was careless. Her hand was too close to Vane's mouth. Vane grew out his teeth into fangs in less than a second and sunk his teeth into the woman's hand. She screamed out in pain and slashed him across the cheek with her nails using her free hand. Vane let go. Gordan had taken his foot off of Vane's leg and reached for Bride as well but Vane used all the strength in his right leg to kick Gordan back.

"Tell me what to do!" Bride yelled at Vane.

"Start the car. Theres an extra set of keys under the floor mat in the passenger side." He kicked Gordan back again and sat up. The woman punched him in the side of the face still infuriated with what he had done to her hand.

Bride frowned. She didn't want to run away from him. But she knew she should listen to him.

"Go!" Vane knew he couldn't fight them like this. Not without shifting. No. He wouldn't do that while she was around. It would freak her out too much.

Bride nodded and ran to the car.

Gordan hauled him to his feet by his shirt collar while the woman bandaged her hand. Vane slashed Gordan across the face with his claws. Gordan released him. Vane stumbled and tried to put all his weight on his one leg that he could feel.

Meanwhile, Bride roared the engine to life and sped over to where he was.

While Gordan was busy checking out his cut up cheek, Vane hobbled over to the car. He got in the passenger side. Gordan turned and fired the gun again getting Vane in the arm. Vane hissed and used his other arm to shut the door. "Drive! Head East."

She floored it, trying to hit one of them in the process with no success.

"Fuck!" the woman screamed. "Dont worry. I think I know where he's headed" Gordan said.

Bride felt like her heart was going to pop right out of her chest. She looked at Vane. His jeans had a dark red spot on them and blood was beginning to drip down his arm. He leaned his head back with his eyes shut tight. "Just keep driving straight. This will lead to the highway." He kept his voice calm.

"No we have to get you to the hospital!"

"No! A hospital is the worst place for me right now. Just keep driving."

"We have to do something!" She couldn't let him just sit there in pain. Especially because he had gotten shot in the leg protecting her.

"Theres a place about 30 minutes away from here. It's an abandoned safehouse for us wolves. Hopefully there's medicine there. Gordan will look for us in a hospital."

Bride frowned. Would he last 30 minutes?

Vane was wondering the same thing as he fought to keep his eyes open.


	7. Dues and Sacrifices

**Dues and Sacrifices**

Bride didn't know how to extract a silver bullet. He couldn't pass out on her and leave her not knowing what to do. Vane pointed to a small dirt road off the highway that looked like so many of the others that you see off of the highway.

"Vane please stay awake.." She said as she turned onto the dirt road.

He smiled a little. "I will." They drove for another five minutes before a small shack appeared. "That's it."

Bride pulled over and practically jumped out of the drivers seat to help him. Vane opened the door and attempted to climb out on his own but with his numb leg he couldn't find any balance. So Bride wiggled herself under his arm and supported him. Vane used his right leg as much as possible.

Once inside the shack, "Lift that rug. There should be a trap door underneath it." He leaned his weight against the wall while she opened the door. Then he leaned on her again as they descended the wide staircase. "There's a switch on the wall beside you." he said once they reached the bottom.

She felt around until she finally found it and flipped it on. The room dimly lit up to reveal a downstairs apartment. It had a small kitchen, a small living room, and a small medical area in the back right corner.

Bride helped him to the medical area and he sat down on the table. He pointed to a cabinet. "In there. Find what looks like extra large tweezers, some gauze and bandages, and a green container." Her face paled as she realized what he wanted her to do. She hesitated for a split second before she went to find the items he requested. But when she came over to him with the items, he took them from her and set them on the table. "I can do this myself. Go distract yourself." Vane knew she had to be feeling light headed by now.

"No, it's okay.." She swallowed. "I can do it.."

Vane raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Bride nodded.

He handed her the tweezers looking things then used his claws to rip his pant leg off so she could reach the wound. Her face turned slightly green but she swallowed whatever it was that threatened to come up and managed to get the bullet out all the same.

Vane bit his lip as she worked on the one in his arm. Blood and silver oozed out of the wound. He tried to busy himself by wiping down his leg with a wet cloth as she worked on his arm. His veins were a blue color and around the wound his skin looked green. Normal signs of silver in the bloodstream.

She felt like she was going to be sick as she worked on his arm. Vane handed her a new cloth to wipe down his arm while he poured the liquid in the green bottle into the bullet wound. He hissed and bit down hard on his lip. It bubbled kind of like peroxide.

Bride watched him, worried. "Will.. You be okay?"

He nodded. "We got here fast enough. They'll just be new scars added to the collection." He spoke with a soft smile.

She looked at the ground. "You saved my life, twice." And got wounded badly for it both times. Especially this last time.

"It's my fault you're in danger." He sounded like he hated himself for that fact and he did.

At that moment, she didn't know what she was doing but she found herself placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

Vane's eyes widened but after a moment he smiled softly at her. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek too.

"Thank you for saving me."

Vane smiled. "Thank you for saving me too."

Bride smiled back. "I didn't save you."

"Are you kidding me? You warned me that they were in the restaurant and you brought the car over to me. They would've had me if it weren't for you."

She smiled a little. "Well...I was just saving my own skin." She teased.

Vane chuckled. He wrapped his arm and his leg in gauze and bandages and then slid off the table carefully with Bride's help. He directed her over to the larger of the two couches that took up the small living room so that he could lay down. "We can relax for a few hours then we need to get going. Do you think you can drive for at least part of tonight?"

Bride nodded. "Of course."

"Basically just don't stop going straight. We should be just inside Illinois by morning."

"Okay. I'm not really tired though." Her adrenaline was still going from their close get away.

"Still. Rest up a little or some watch some TV."

She nodded but didn't feel like leaving his side.

Vane smiled up at her from his place on the couch. "I'll be fine. The silver just makes me tired." It made him a lot more than that but he didn't want her to worry anymore than she already was.

She frowned at him. "Don't lie to me"

Vane sighed. "I'm not saying it doesn't hurt. But I'm not going to die on you."

"Is there anything I can do?"

_You could kiss me good night._ But there was no way she was doing that. "Just don't worry yourself."

She nodded and started to make her way to the other couch quietly. As she laid down she felt like crap. She was scared. And now she owed him. She owed him her life. Twice.

It wasn't but a few minutes when Vane's eyes started to droop. He fought them only for a minute before letting them close finally.

Bride rested quietly but every now and then she would open her eyes to check on him. There were a few times when she'd catch him about to turn over but the moment one of his wounds touched the couch he unconsciously settled back into the position he was in before.

---------------------------------

It was three hours before Vane woke up. The bleeding had stopped. It still hurt like hell but he was a big boy. He could suck it up. He opened his eyes. "Bride?"

"Yes?" Bride asked as she sat up quickly.

"We should get going."

She nodded. "How are you feeling?" She asked as she reached out to help him up.

"Better. It still hurts but I'll live." He leaned a little bit of his weight on her as she helped him out of the shack and into the passenger seat of the car.

"We should reach Illinois around 5 or 6 in the morning I think. We'll be about half way there at that point. Hopefully they don't catch us again because by then they'll know where I'm going and they'll be even more determined to stop us."

Bride climbed into the driver's seat. "So, there's a good chance I might not come out of this alive." Now all she had to do was come to grips with that fact.

"No. There's a 100 percent chance that you are going to come out of this alive." He sounded like he wasn't kidding.

Bride snorted. "Some how I don't believe you." Even as she said it she knew she was lying. Despite everything that had happened so far...she still believed him.

Vane sighed. "I'm not going to let them kill you. I'll give up my own life to keep that promise if I have to." _Oops._

Bride frowned. _Did he just say what I think he just said? _"What?"

Vane quickly turned his head to look out the window, embarrassed.

"Don't say that." She snapped.

"I'm sorry." He was sorry that he had made her mad but he wasn't sorry for telling her the truth. He would die for her.

* * *

Awww cute moment!


	8. The Pack

**The Pack**

The ride was pretty much quiet until lunch time rolled around. They went through a drive-thru for safety. When they rented a hotel that night they were only a few hours from the Nebraska border. And to both Vane's and Bride's disappointment, the room had two beds this time.

Vane limped to the room but he was able to support himself and his bag. He took a nice hot shower to loosen the muscles around the wounds. He was careful not to reopen them again. When he got out he wrapped his leg up in bandages again just in case and put his pajama pants on. He came out of the bathroom limping again and sat down on the edge of his bed. He set the bandages beside him so that he could do his arm.

Bride was in her tank top and pink shorts again when he came out. She rushed over to him when he went to pick up the bandages. "Let me help you with that"

Vane looked like he was about to protest but he shut his mouth when he saw the tender look in her bright green eyes. He smiled gently. "Thank you."

She took the bandages and sat next to him on the bed. She took his arm gently and started to softly wrap it.

He watched her with a small smile. Her touch was so gentle and soothing that the hot shower wouldn't even had been necessary. "I meant what I said earlier. I know you don't like it. But I meant it."

Bride frowned. "Don't say that. I'm not worth anyone dying for."

Vane frowned. "To me you are. I will protect you. You will get out of this alive I promise you. And you can go back to your old life and forget about everything if you want."

She looked up at him. She was finished wrapping his arm but that wasn't the reason she had stopped to look at him. He looked like he meant what he said. And his eyes had that hard determination in them. This man would die to protect her and have no regrets about it. He might be part dog but hey that only made him more loyal right?

He smiled down at her. She was beautiful and fragile. Yet, she was strong. A normal human would've broken down into tears or went into shock by now. And here she was patching up his wounds.

Before she knew what she was doing she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly against his. Vane was shocked but it only took him a millisecond to smile against her lips a little and kiss her back softly.

She had never done something this risky as before. And she...liked it. Of course she had kissed a guy before but that was in what? First grade. Nervousness struck through her now that she realized what she was doing.

Vane's hand wrapped around the back of her neck to hold her where she was.

Her heart sped up quickly. He was more than ten times her age which meant that he was probably very experienced. She began to pull away, nervously.

Vane pulled her back for one last kiss before he let her escape him. As much as he hated to let her get away, he knew he had to. She didn't know what it meant to have sex with him. Despite what she thought, he wasn't experienced at all. His comfort in his skills and abilities were just natural to a werewolf. You wouldn't find a werewolf that wasn't pleasing in bed and when it came to a male claiming his female...there was no such thing as nervousness. Only dominance and triumph. But for werewolves, mating and sex were the same. If you had sex even once you were mated. So you didn't have sex unless you wanted that person as your mate for forever. As a result, well...

"We should uh... we should get some rest."

Bride nodded, too embarrassed to speak. She crawled under the covers not even realizing that she had crawled under the covers in his bed.

And too tired to care to say anything, he just slipped under the covers on the other side of the bed.

--

The next morning Bride got up early to take a shower. Afterward, they got breakfast at Cracker Barrel and headed back out on the road. "We should reach Yellowstone by noon I think."

About four hours later, they had arrived at the border of his father's territory. He stopped the car just outside of it. It was 12:30. He turned the radio off.

Bride was snoozing lightly against the passenger side window.

He smiled a little at her. He thought about letting her sleep but she needed to be awake for this. He shook her shoulder softly. "Bride."

She jerked awake and then yawned. "What?"

"I would let you sleep but you should probably be awake for this." He edged the car over the border and drove only about 15 miles per hour.

She nodded and yawned again. "Are we there?"

Vane nodded solemnly. "They're watching us."

Bride frowned as her heart sped up. "W-what? Where?"

"They watch their borders closely. A runner is probably already off to tell my father that we're here."

She frowned, somewhat scared. She tried to hide it from him though.

Surely enough about 10 minutes later, three werewolves appeared to block their road. He stopped the car and put it in park. He unbuckled his seat belt. "Stay here." He ordered.

"No." She protested and unbuckled her own seat belt.

He frowned. "They don't like humans" His tone was a warning. But it wasn't a tone that was forbidding her to come. It was a tone that said she had a choice.

Bride frowned and got out after he did. She felt safer near him.

Vane took her hand in his. He felt better if he knew for sure where she was. He kept himself between the wolves and Bride.

"What are you doing here Aneaus? You were banished. Or do you not remember? How long has it been? Almost two centuries? Has your memory started to fail you already?"

"And with a human?" another added in.

"The reason I came here is for my father's ears alone. Now take us to him." Vane demanded.

The three wolves whispered amongst themselves for a minute before the one who had done most of the talking, nodded. "Fine. Follow us." The three werewolves suddenly materialized into normal looking wolves only slightly larger. One was brown and two were gray. Vane looked at Bride to study her reaction. He had avoided doing that around her so that he didn't freak her out.

She looked utterly surprised and a little bit frightened.

Vane squeezed her hand. "It's okay." He frowned as one of them spoke in his head. Then he looked back at her. "I'm going to have to carry you."

"Okay." She said carefully.

Vane picked her up bridal style in his arms. "If you get sick just close your eyes." The wolves started to run ahead and Vane began to run keeping pace with them. He was a fast runner. Of course he wasn't human. Bride found herself wondering what his wolf form looked like, but at the same time it scared her. She hugged him close to her even though she knew that he would never drop her.

They ran for 20 minutes before coming into a clearing full of a mix of wolves and humans. Vane set her down gently on her feet again. People and wolves alike gathered around the group as they moved towards a small lake. Whispers of Aeneaus's name and question as to why he was here and who the human was floated in the air like an atmosphere.

Without thinking, Bride linked arms with him and kept him close to her. Vane didn't mind. He liked it better knowing she was there beside him.

The three wolves led them to a black one with a small white spot on his chest that was larger than all the rest. There was a brown female wolf beside him. Bride wasn't sure if the female was smaller than all of the rest she saw or if she just looked that way next to the big black one.

Vane bowed his head. "Father."

The large wolf stood and made a sound that sounded like a snort.

Bride frowned as she held onto him tighter.

The wolf approached Bride and sniffed her legs, taking in her scent. "Father I've come to you for aid. And you know I wouldn't have come unless it was important."

Bride wondered if this large wolf would bite her.

The wolf stood back a little and took on his human form. He was about an inch taller than Vane with the same black hair only his was long and straight. It was loose around him. His eyes were blue but not near as dark as Vane's. He looked like an older form of Vane only their eye shape was different. He had the same body style as well. "You know the rules of banishment. And now you have brought this human with you as well? Is she your mate Aeneaus?"

"No. She's my friend. I care a lot for her. She's the reason I'm here."

"You want to make our problems yours?" His father questioned with a deep voice.

Bride frowned. She didn't like the way this conversation was panning out.

"No. Gordan is my enemy. He's my problem. But she should never have gotten involved. I just want some help in protecting her. That's all. She's an innocent human and you know it."

His father frowned. He heard a whine and looked down to find the female looking up at him with puppy eyes. He sighed. "Fine. But stay away from everyone else. As long as you are here you are an omega. You are not my son."

That stung. Vane almost winced at the old wound being reopened. He looked at the ground in submission. "Yes my lord."

Bride glared at his father and opened her mouth to say something but then thought better of it. How could a parent say that to their child?

"Gordan will be following you here."

"I know. I plan to meet him before he discovers the pack here. But I need some of you to come with me to help me protect her."

"Just leave her with us here." His father told him dismissively.

Bride immediately began to flip out. She did NOT want to leave his side, not for one minute.

"She won't leave my side. And I don't want her to."

His father sighed and looked at Bride.

Bride frowned at him. She didn't want to be left alone with these people. Her grip on Vane's arm tightened.

His father shrugged. "Fine. Choose two men to take with you tomorrow."

Vane nodded and started to walk away with Bride on his arm. The brown female went to follow Vane but... "Christina". Her mates voice was stern. Telling her to stay where she was. She whined and looked after Vane for another moment before turning back to her mate.

Bride didn't speak as he led her to somewhere unknown. She felt like she had so many questions for him and yet she was afraid to know the answers.

* * *

Sorry about the long wait you guys! I got a few bad grades on my progress report so I had to focus on getting those up. But I should be fine now so Im back to updating regularly hopefully. =)


	9. Questions and Answers

**Questions and Answers**

Vane led Bride around the shore of the dark blue lake to a spot that was about a hundred yards from everyone else. He sat down then and pulled her onto his lap. Bride smiled happily as Vane sighed with relief. "I'm so glad he was soft on me. I was honestly expecting him to chase me off the land with my tail between my legs the moment he saw my face."

Bride frowned. "Why would he do that?"

"He swore that if I ever showed my face here again he would do just that."

"What did you do?"

"We had strong disagreements about how I should live my life. It took me 25 years to discover that he was right all along and by then I didn't think he would let me back into the pack without a mate."

"Why would you having a mate make a difference?" she asked curiously.

"Because I wouldn't have had a pack to help me protect her. I knew my father wouldn't be so cruel to leave me _and_ my mate _and_ puppies without a pack."

"So werewolves stick together just like regular wolves." It wasn't a question but Vane felt like confirming. "Yes. Family and Pack are the most important things to us."

They stayed silent for a moment before Bride couldn't hold her question in any longer. It was bugging her to death. "Why did your mom not speak to you? She acted like she wanted to but she didn't."

Vane frowned. "It's a little difficult to explain. It's kind of like what you'd probably call 'old school'. When two werewolves are mated it's the male's first and foremost instinct to protect his mate and his pups. And it's the female's natural instinct to nurture the pups and obey her mate."

"So you're saying that your mom hasn't seen you in almost a century and just because of instinct she didn't talk to you because your dad told her not to?" Her tone said she didn't agree with it at all.

"Like I said it's difficult to explain. If you were mated to a werewolf you'd understand." _I wouldn't mind making that come true if you'd let me._

_I wonder what it would be like to live here. As a human. With Vane. Or maybe there's a way to become a werewolf. Like being bitten or something. _"Is there a way to become a werewolf?"

_Why would she want to know that? _"Yes. A pack-leader who is old enough and strong enough can give a human his or her blood and transform them. My father is one of the few who is old enough."

"What does your age have to do with it?" She hoped it didn't have anything to do with blood lust like the werewolves and vampires in movies.

"Well age matters because the werewolf gene in our blood is only able to take over and transform all of the blood cells in a persons body if its ancient and strong enough. And they have to be a pack-leader so that the new wolf is accepted into the pack assuming they want to stay."

"Oh." It was so much to take in all at once. She had so much to learn. For a moment she wondered why she wanted to know everything about them and their culture but then she realized it was because of Vane. Not to mention pure curiosity.

"I'm just glad he's helping. I think your scent charmed him."

"My scent charmed him? Do I smell?"

Vane smiled. "You smell very good for a human. Usually human scents aren't that great."

She blinked. Was that supposed to be a compliment? "Oh.. Well, um.. Thank you?"

Vane chuckled. As if reading her mind, "It is a very good comment especially coming from my father. Having a good scent means you have a good personality."

Bride smiled. "Well I guess if you put it that way I'm flattered."

Vane grinned and sighed contentedly. A few more silent minutes passed by before a thought occurred to Bride. "They're coming for us?"

Vane's mouth thinned into a grim line. "They're coming for me." He corrected. Although he didn't like the idea that even though they were coming to kill him, they probably planned to kill Bride too just to hurt him.

"But..we'll beat them right?" She wanted his reassurance. She needed him to tell her he'd be safe.

"Of course. I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

Bride smiled. He was always worried about her. "You're not lying to me are you?"

"Why would I lie to you Bride?"

"Because you don't want me to worry." It would be just like him to do something like that.

"No I'm not lying. It'll be fine. We'll win."

Bride smiled a little and started to play with his hand. She traced the muscles and tendons and bones and the patterns in his skin. "When will they get here?"

"Sometime tomorrow morning I think."

"A small part of me still thinks I might not live to see tomorrow night."

Vane frowned. "I swear to you, you will. If it costs me my life you will see tomorrow night and every night afterward."

She frowned at him. "Don't say that." She didn't want anyone dying for her. Especially him.

He tilted her chin up so that he could look her in the eyes. "I got you into this mess and I'm going to get you out."

"But, you'll live through it too..Won't you?"

Her big green eyes were filled with concern for him. He felt like his heart was melting when she looked at him like that. He didn't want to deny her anything. "For you I will." And he kissed her softly. Tenderly.

Her heart skipped a beat when he kissed her. It was so weird, when they were friends she wasn't sure about her feelings towards him, but now.. when their lives were in the balance she just didn't want to leave his side. He was willing to die for her. She wondered if she would be willing to belong in a place like this for him.

Vane was having troubles of his own, trying to figure out what he wanted. He wanted her near him always but he wanted her as safe as she could possibly be. But it didn't matter. She didn't want to leave his side and that was that. And he wasn't going to deny the fact that he liked it.

After another minute or so they slowly pulled away to breathe. She smiled up at him softly. But when they heard a light bark coming from their right Bride started to blush. It was his mom in her wolf form. Bride climbed off of his lap to sit beside him.

"Bride...would you mind if I uhm...changed?"

Vane's mother had come over and starting sniffing Bride. She shook her head at him. "I don't mind."

Vane touched her cheek softly as if saying thank you before he materialized into a large white wolf with a small brown spot on one of his back feet. His mother wagged her tail vigorously and licked him all over his face. His ears were pulled back but not out of fear or intimidation.

Bride laughed a little. It was so adorable. Vane's tail started to wag furiously as he started to lick his mother and rub his face against her neck. She whined in a happy sort of way as if she was crying with joy as she nuzzled his shoulder.

When the two were finally done saying hello, Christina looked at Bride. It almost looked like Vane looked at her too and smiled. Bride sat with her legs crossed and smiled a little when they looked at her. "What?"

Christina approached her and put her front paws in Bride's lap and licked her cheek. Bride giggled. Christina wagged her tail then looked back at Vane and barked. Vane shook his massive head and gripped a piece of his mom's fur gently in his mouth and tugged a little. Christina got off of Bride and pawed at Vane, trying to get him to lay down. When he finally did, she started licking the insides of his ears. Vane had a look on his face that, even as a wolf, clearly said 'This is embarrassing'. Bride couldn't help but laugh at him.

But it wasn't long before a sharp yet deep sounding bark was heard from a few yards away. The three of them looked to find the source. Vane's father was glaring slightly at him. Vane pulled his ears back and looked away.

Christina whined but when her mate barked sharply again she stood. She licked Vane on the head once more before trotting over to her mate. They returned to their side of the lake and Vane returned to his human form beside Bride. He wrapped an arm around her waist casually as she looked out at the calm lake. It almost looked like glass.

Bride figured it was probably a wolf thing to be affectionate and not even realize it. She smiled a little at the thought and at the feel of his warm arm wrapped around her possessively.

It wasn't long before the two laid down beside each other and slept.


	10. Choices

**Choices**

8.A.M. Vane slowly sat up and yawned. He intended to breathe in the fresh morning air but instead the wind brought the scents of Gordan and the female to him. They were waiting. Vane frowned. He had been hoping to spend part of the morning with Bride but it didn't seem like he was going to be that lucky.

Bride stirred. "Vane?" she murmured. His arms had been her blanket all through the night and she missed their warmth.

Vane smiled and kissed her cheek. "Im here, little one."

Bride cracked her eyes open and smiled. She sat up and stretched her arms high above her head.

Vane sighed. "As much as I would hate to ruin this perfect morning, Gordan is waiting for me."

Bride's eyes widened in alarm and her muscles tensed. "He's here? Where?"

Vane put a protective arm around her shoulders. "He's waiting at the border. Him and the female. They wouldn't dare enter my father's land."

Bride relaxed a bit.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait here for me?" Vane knew that she'd be safer if she stayed but he also knew she would be even more scared if he left her behind.

"I want to stay with you but Im afraid I'll get in the way. But I'm also afraid to be left here alone and not know whats happening to you."

Vane sighed and kissed the side of her head. "I think you should stay here. You'll be safer. But I won't leave you here alone. You can stay with my parents."

Bride nodded. "Okay." She was looking forward to staying with his mother, Christina, but she wasn't so sure about his father. But Bride was willing to give his father another chance. For Vane. Vane seemed to love and respect his father immensely so there must be a reason.

Vane lifted her into his arms bridal style and headed towards the other side of the lake. Bride was surprised. He had lifted her effortlessly without so much as a grunt. She snuggled her face against his chest and sighed happily. He was going to leave her soon but he'd be back. And he'd be safe. He had promised.

Vane set Bride gently on the ground beside his mother. This was the first time that Bride had ever seen Christina as a human. She was so small and dainty. A large contrast to her mate who sat beside her with a large possessive arm around her tiny but curvy waist. Her hair was a chestnut brown with bright green eyes. She had a diamond shaped face and she let off an aura that spelled 'motherly affection'. She smiled at Bride and took Bride's hand in her own reassuringly. Bride squeezed it slightly in response.

Vane's father raised a quizzical brow. "I thought she was going with you."

Vane made sure not to meet his father's gaze. "We've decided that she is safer here."

"Well I couldv'e told you that from the very beginning."

"Jay." Christina's voice was like a sharp but gentle bell.

Jay shrugged. "Makes no difference to me. But since you won't be needing someone to help protect her, you're going in alone."

"I realize that, sir."

"You can't do that!" Bride shouted.

Jay looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "And why can't I?"

"Because! He's your son! You can't just send him out there to fight them on his own! He could be killed!"

Jay chuckled. "Young lady, despite what you might think of me, I would never send my son into a death trap unless I was sure he could handle it."

This time Vane raised his eyes to meet his father's. "What are you saying?"

Jay glanced at Bride and then back at Vane. "I've seen a few things. And I have decided that the best course of action is to release you from your banishment."

It wasn't until shouts of joy went up that Bride realized that the whole pack had been listening to their entire conversation. Many of the males came up and slapped Vane on the back saying things like "Welcome back, old friend" and "Welcome back, my prince".

But the celebration quickly ended when Vane heard a gunshot. He expected to feel pain but nothing like the pain and rage he felt when he saw Bride's eyes fill with tears right before she fell back onto the ground. Vane let out a howl of pure rage before he turned and ran straight for the female.

Meanwhile, Christina did her best to stop the blood from flowing out of Bride's chest. Bride wanted to scream from the pain but she had lost her voice. She couldn't die like this. There was so much she hadn't gotten to do yet. She never would know what it felt like to be a mother. To be with Vane. Vane. She hoped she got to see his face one more time.

Vane had easily disposed of Gordan with one swift tear at the throat. But the female was proving more difficult. She appeared behind him. He could feel her swinging her blade to decapitate him. It seemed to be her favorite way to kill. Big mistake. Vane ducked and wrenched his claws into her stomach. It stunned her long enough for Vane to snap her neck with one easy twist.

It was a few moments before Vane's rage subsided enough for him to remember where he was. "Bride." He sprinted to her side and looked at his father. "Can you save her?"

Jay looked at his son. "Are you sure she would want this or do you just want her for your own reasons?"

Vane looked down at Bride. Would she want to be a wolf? Would she want to share the life that he had barely introduced to her with him?

"Vane" was all Bride could manage. She was so happy she got to see him again. She would do anything to see him every day for the rest of her life. She loved him.

Vane laid his palm over her sweat dampened forehead. "It's okay baby." He looked back up at his father. "Do it. Please. I love her."

Jay knew his son wasn't lying. He had seen them together. Mated. Jay bent his head down and sank his fangs into Bride's neck. The venom began to spread instantly. Bride arched her back and cried out in pain.


	11. Resilience

**Resilience**

Vane brushed his fingers through her hair. "Shhh. Baby it's okay. I know it hurts. I know." He kept trying to shush her but it was as if she couldn't hear him at all.

It wasn't long before Jay pulled away from Bride's neck and wiped his mouth on a cloth Christine handed him. "She'll be alright. It only hurts for about an hour and then it stops."

Vane winced. An hour. An hour of having to hear her screams of pain and not being able to do anything about it. He picked her up in his arms and carried her away to the other side of the lake. The other wolves did not need to suffer along with him by watching her struggle with the change.

--

"Vane?" her voice was hoarse. Her throat felt raw. Had she been yelling in her sleep? She could feel Vane jump beside her as if he had been just starting to doze off.

"Bride?" Vane's face appeared in her field of vision. "How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Bride tried to sit up but her vision spun and her head ached. She slowly laid it back down. "What happened?"

Uh oh. "You were shot by the woman. You were dying. So my father changed you into one of us. To save your life."

"One of you?" She was a wolf now? A werewolf? She blinked a few times in confusion. How could she not remember any of this? She turned her head to see the lake and the pack that was moving about it's normal business on the other side. Then she suddenly realized that she could now see them much more clearly than she could before. Her hearing seemed better too. She could hear Vane's heartbeat and a bird scoop up a mouse in it's talons a mile away. And Vane's scent...was even better than before. Okay this was kind of creepy and kind of cool at the same time.

"Bride?"

Vane sounded worried. She looked back up at him. He was waiting on an answer from her. "Can I...change?"

Vane slowly nodded. He seemed to be holding his breath.

Wow. Bride wondered what color of fur she would have. "Cool."

"Cool?" That was not the reaction he had been expecting at all. He knew Bride was resilient but 'cool'?

Bride slowly sat up with Vane's help. "Yeah. I mean it's not every day you learn you can change into a wolf."

"So your...your not mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? Of course I'm not mad." She pulled herself up onto his lap and put a hand on each side of his face. She made him look her in the eyes. "How could I be mad at you for loving me enough to do whatever it took to keep me alive?"

Vane smiled a little and kissed her softly. "I do love you, Bride. I really do."

Bride smiled and kissed his cheek. "I know. I love you, too."

"But will you stay here? With me?"

Bride sighed. Stay here? With Vane? Be a wolf? Mate? Have...puppies? She looked across the lake at the pack. They seemed so peaceful and at home in their lives. Everyone knew what their purpose in life was. Bride... Bride wasn't really sure. "I want to learn more before I decide. If you don't mind."

Vane smiled. "Not at all." He leaned his back against a tree trunk and Bride turned around in his lap so that she sat between his legs with her back against his chest. "What would you like to know first?"

Bride thought for a moment. "Do I look any different? Cause I sure do feel different. I feel...stronger...more confident."

Vane smiled. "The confidence is just the wolf in you. Your wolf is almost like another being. It will want things that your human side is not so sure of. But to give you a heads up...your wolf is usually right. You only feel stronger because you are."

"Is changing...difficult? I mean...does it hurt?"

"Well what you went through was very painful. But shifting from one form to another is not painful at all. It's like breathing. When you want it to happen...it happens."

Hmm. She'd definitely have to try that soon. Bride blushed at her next question. "So if we were to have...kids...would they be puppies or babies?"

Vane grinned. He liked where her line of thought was going. "You want to skip the mating and go right on to having the pups, huh? I can live with that."

Bride blushed even more. "Shut up."

Vane rubbed her belly as he answered her question. "You would give birth to them in your wolf form, making them puppies. They have to be raised as puppies because they can't shift into their human form until they hit puberty."

"Oh." She laced her fingers with Vane's as they came to a stop on her belly. "So how does the whole mating thing work?"

Vane smiled. "I was hoping you'd ask that question. Werewolves take sex very seriously. Because that is our mating bond. You have to be positive that you want your partner for a mate because once it is done it can never be undone. You have sex with another to make them your mate. From that point on the male can only get an erection in response to his female and the female can only get pregnant from her male. Other wolves will always be able to smell the other mate on them almost as if they had joined blood as well as souls."

"Wait a minute back up. You said that sex is your mating bond. So that means that you've never...?"

Vane shook his head, unembarrassed.

Bride was stunned. "Wow. And the male can't get an erection from any other female?"

"Nope."

"Well that must make his mate feel good." She giggled.

Vane smiled and kissed her cheek.

It was a few more minutes before she asked her next question. They had both begun to drift off to sleep but she wanted to ask this one last question first. "Vane?"

"Hm?"

"What about my father?"

Vane tightened his arms around her. "It's hard to say. We could try to convince my father to change him if of course your father agreed. Or we could come back and say you're going to live with me, if that's what you choose of course, and we'll still visit him frequently but never tell him the truth."

Bride sighed. Hard choices. But she could deal with them later. Right now she just wanted to take a nice short nap in Vane's arms.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed!! Keep reading and reviewing please! =)


	12. Decisions

**Decisions**

Vane woke up to Bride kissing his cheeks lightly. She started to say his name but before she could finish he had captured his mouth with his own. Bride pulled away with a laugh. "Vane!" She slapped him on the chest as he grinned triumphantly. He took her hand in his own and they stood up together. "Come on. It's dinner time and I want to show you the pack." Bride smiled and squeezed his hand lightly.

Once they were among the pack, Bride began to watch them all with a curiosity much like a puppy coming out of it's den for the first time. She wasn't sure if it was normal for a new werewolf to suddenly start using wolf-like analogies but it seemed to make sense whether it was normal or not.

There was a certain feeling of peace and contentment that hung in the air and the more you breathed it in, the more you became a part of it. Everyone had a role to play. Everyone knew their place and their duty to the pack. Whether it was to hunt, to take care of puppies, to cook or to keep everyone in line, everyone knew what to do and they were all completely content with their role.

As Bride walked among them she started to feel like she actually might really belong here. But was she ready to give up everything and everyone she ever knew...for all of this? Maybe.

The mothers were busy gathering up all of the puppies and males to start serving dinner while others were getting the plates ready. The fathers were talking, licking their mates or pups, letting the pups crawl all over them to play or were picking them up to take them to their mothers. The mothers were calm and patient but stern.

Bride smiled. She loved to be like that. A mother. She glanced up at Vane out of the corner of her eye. _'He would give me lots of puppies.'_ She grinned.

She looked over to her right to see a group of teenagers talking and teasing each other while watching over a few of their younger sibling puppies tumbling with each other. It was then that Bride realized what some of this peacefulness came from. Time. For these people, time passed so slowly that it was almost non-existent. And in a place like this where they could never be bothered...."Wow." She didn't even realize she had said it out loud until Vane said something.

"What?"

Bride looked up at him and smiled. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" She didn't seem worried. He wasn't sure what you could call the emotion.

"About all of this. I think I could see myself living here but at the same time....what about all of the little stuff that humans do to entertain themselves? I mean do you guys just do the same thing every single day?" Somehow even as she said it, she felt like she could find comfort in the idea. No chaos. Ever.

Vane smiled. "No. This is not the only place we live. A few miles away is where we live most of the time. Its a large plantation home on the outskirts of a small town."

"A small town in the middle of Yellowstone National Park?" It didn't seem logical.

"Well its a place where the tourists can stay and shop and the shops and hotels and the one casino are run by the people who live in the town all of the time."

"Oh." It made sense. "So how long do you guys stay here?"

"Well we try to stay true to our heritage a lot of the time. So we try to stay here for a couple of weeks every two months or so."

Suddenly they heard a small bark come from their feet. Bride and Vane looked down to see a small light gray puppy with striking blue eyes wagging it's tail with it's tongue hanging out and a smile on it's face. The little puppy reached up it's front legs and put them on Bride's and barked again.

Bride smiled and reached down and picked up the little thing as it tried to lick her. She hugged it to her chest and looked at Vane.

Her smile was so beautiful. She would be a good mother. The perfect mother for his pups. "That's Lucy. She's my cousin."

"Awww. Vane she's so adorable!" She scratched Lucy behind the ears. "I want one."

Vane chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "I'd be happy to give one. Or half a dozen." He nuzzled her neck before kissing it.

Bride smiled and pulled away from his arms. "Don't be so brazen in front of the puppy, Vane." Her tone was accusing but he could tell by the look on her face that she was teasing him.

--

After dinner, everyone gathered around a large bonfire. Bride had been introduced to everyone including all of the puppies. Surprisingly she actually could remember everyone's name as she looked at them in the dark with her new wolf-vision. She sat between Vane's legs with her back to his chest again while he leaned against a somewhat large rock. She found herself starting to drift off as she watched the flames of the bonfire licking across the wood.

Bride hadn't realized she had drifted to sleep until she felt Vane pick her up and carry her a little bit away from the fire. She smiled and snuggled against his chest once he was on the ground beside her.

--

The next morning, Bride shared breakfast with Vane, Christine, and Jay. Through breakfast she learned a lot about Christine and Jay and the mating bond they shared. She learned what it would be like to be mated. She didn't agree with somethings but Vane reassured her that it would be different with them simply because they were different people.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Vane invited her to take a walk with him. "Bride..." he hesitated.

"What is it, Vane?"

Vane sighed. _'I don't want to lose her. I can't. What if she chooses a normal life over me? I can't be away from my pack again. It hurt too much the first time. But I can't be parted from her either. I want her to be mine.'_

"Vane?"

"My father is going to move the pack back to our plantation home I told you about tomorrow. So.... he wants to know your decision about staying with us."

Bride frowned. It was so sudden yet so overdue. She couldn't keep dragging everyone around like she was. She needed to make a decision. She looked up at him and it hit her. The fact that she could never go back. Even if she wanted to she would never be the same after this. "Vane....I love you." She smiled and laughed a little at herself for taking so long to realize all of this. "I want to stay with you and be mated to you and have puppies and...everything. I love you, Vane. So much."

Vane was so stunned he couldn't even speak. A broad smile stretched across his face as he picked her up and swung her around in circles.

Bride laughed with him. Finally, she had found a man that could pick her up without grunting, that could give her as many children as she wanted, that would be there to love and protect her and their family forever.

She kissed him and they didn't stop until they were both sated, sealing their mating bond in the process of course.


	13. Resolutions

**Resolutions**

Vane made sure Bride was tucked warmly inside their comforter before he left the room. The pack had returned to the large plantation property complete with two large three story plantation homes. Both houses looked exactly the same with spacious bedrooms decorated by the occupants.

The third floor of each house was reserved for the alpha and his family. Vane and Bride occupied a very large bedroom with a good sized bathroom in the West House while Jay and Christine stayed in the East House.

Vane knocked softly on his parent's bedroom door. He knew his mother was in heat and it wasn't in his father's nature to leave her unsated. So he waited patiently while his father made sure Christine was tucked happily in bed before answering the door then he followed Jay down to the kitchen.

"What should I do about her father? He loves her very much." Vane always preferred to cut right to the chase.

"If he loves her as much as you think I'm sure he won't mind that his only daughter is about to marry the catch of the millennium." Jay grinned at his son and Vane could only grin back.

"Leave him oblivious then?" Jay nodded. Vane sighed. He didn't like the idea of making Bride lie to her father.

---------------------------------------

Bride squeezed Vane's hand reassuringly. "You'll do fine. Don't worry. He'll love you."

Vane tried to smile but wasn't very successful. Bride unlocked the door and stepped inside. Vane closed the door behind him and held his breath.

"Bride is that you? I was wondering when you'd be-" Shane stopped suddenly when he saw a big good-looking stranger holding his daughter's hand while her other hand had an engagement ring on it.

"Daddy!" Bride ran to him and hugged him tightly. Shane embraced her but kept his eyes on Vane. "Bride who's this?"

"Daddy please be nice. This is my friend Vane. I've told you about him. Remember?" Shane frowned. "Yeah I remember. What I don't remember is him asking for my permission before he put an engagement ring on your finger."

Vane gulped. "I realize that sir and I'm very sorry. I was going to wait until we got back from France but she looked so beautiful at dinner the other night. I had to ask her."

"How old are you? You seem a little old to be a senior in high school."

Vane pretended to be sheepish. "Yes, sir. I'm 21. I was unable to attend school for a few years because my mother was sick so I had to play catch-up."

Shane frowned and pushed Bride towards the kitchen. "Excuse us for a minute."

_Shit_, Vane thought.

-------------------------------------------

"Are you sure about this, Bride?"

"Daddy, I know that he doesn't look like the type to be devoted at 21, believe me I know. But he loves me and I love him. I know Vane. He would never hurt me. Physically or emotionally. He's just as protective as you are if not more."

Shane smiled a little as he saw his daughter the happiest he had ever seen her. If Vane could make her eyes sparkle like that than maybe he deserved a chance. He knew Bride wasn't irresponsible.... so he sighed and kissed her cheek.

Bride smiled and ran out to Vane and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Everything was perfect. They were mated and her father didn't mind that they were going to get married. She couldn't wait to move into the pack's house.

Shane came out of the kitchen and shook Vane's hand. "You have my blessing. But you better be good to my little girl. "

Vane smiled. "I will, sir."

Bride looked up at her mate and future husband and smiled when she saw him smiling down at her. Vane couldn't wait to start a family and live happily ever after with her and the pack. Bride hated that she had to lie to her father and she wondered what they were going to do when they had children. After all they would be born puppies. But she knew they would figure it out when the time came. After all, they had quite a few centuries.

**THE END**

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Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing!


	14. Sequel?

Authors Note:

**ATTENTION!!!! IF YOU LIKED THIS STORY LISTEN UP!!!**

I'm seriously considering writing a sequel. So if anyone has any little ideas for a plot or names for puppies just leave a review for one of the chapters and let me know! Thanks and hope you enjoyed the story!


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